Eagles to Renew Rivalry With Northern Iowa in 2015 and 2016

Jan 17, 2014

Having faced each other five times previously, Eagles will play
at Missouri Valley Football Conference member in 2015 and then host
the Panthers at "The Inferno" in 2016

Matching two of the top teams historically in the NCAA Football
Championship Subdivision, Eastern Washington University will renew
its football rivalry with Northern Iowa from the Missouri Valley
Football Conference when the two teams square off in 2015 and 2016.
Eastern athletic director Bill Chaves and his counterpart at
Northern Iowa, Troy Dannen, made the announcement on Friday (Jan.
17).

The first meeting will occur Sept. 12, 2015, in the UNI-Dome in
Cedar Falls. The second matchup will be Sept. 17, 2016, at Roos
Field in Cheney, Wash.

"We look forward to a tremendous two-game series with a
perennial FCS contender in Northern Iowa,” said Chaves.
“Scheduling is always challenging, but the willingness of
both schools to play should be a benefit to FCS as a
whole.”

The series will feature two of the most successful programs in
FCS history. UNI has appeared in the FCS playoffs on 16 occasions
and tallied 19 wins, while EWU has made 10 appearances with 13 wins
and a national title in 2010. The Panthers rank fifth in FCS
history in appearances and seventh in wins, while EWU is right
behind in 13th and 10th, respectively.

Northern Iowa and Eastern Washington have met on five previous
occasions – all in Cedar Falls -- with the Panthers winning
all five matchups. Three of those contests occurred in the FCS
playoffs (1985, 1992, 2005).

The Panthers won all four of their non-conference games in 2013,
including a 28-20 upset at Iowa State to open the season. However,
they had a five-game conference losing streak – including
three consecutive overtime losses – to finish 7-5 on the
season and 3-5 in league.

Eastern finished 12-3 and advanced to the semifinals of the FCS
Playoffs for the second-straight year. The Eagles, the 2010 NCAA
Division I champion, were 8-0 in the Big Sky Conference for the
first time in school history.

In all, UNI has won 16 conference titles in its storied history
and Eastern has captured seven.

Oregon (9/5/15) and Montana State (9/19/15) are the other two
non-conference games currently on EWU's 2015 schedule, and EWU is
scheduled to play Washington State the following season (9/3/16).
Chaves said he is still in need of one game for the 2016 season,
and is hoping to schedule a home-and-home series with another FCS
foe for that season and a return game in 2017. The finalized 2014
schedule has yet to be announced.